So... the last two weeks have been composed of some of the most crazy times ever! The first Saturday of the trip I got to explore the Salt Spring Island market and watch an epic water bottle chase through the harbour. Then, after church the next day we went climbing on Mount Maxwell. It was pretty sweet. I had never been climbing before, but soon discovered that it was an amazing way to spend Sunday afternoon, even though the rocks were pretty cold.
The weekend that followed was truly the definition of craziness. We kicked of Friday night by watching Avatar since the prof had decided that it would make an awesome transition from the marine course to botany. The next morning we went to town, most to the market and a few of us to play Frisbee golf. After lunch, we headed up Mount Maxwell again to climb. We were going to try a 25m rock face near the end of the trip, but it started to rain pretty hard so we headed down into Ganges to have dinner. Sunday was yet another crazy extension of the weekend. After church I picked up my sister and a friend and had a great three hours with them catching up on all I had missed back home. It was really nice to see them again since I had missed them a lot (and still do). The rainy day gave way to milder weather soon after they left and after supper the class made a sauna (or, as the guys would rather call it, the "man sauna/ mauna"). Everything that they deem epic seems to have that prefix attached to it. It is actually rather hilarious.
On Monday we got to explore the Crow's Nest and on the way back the car in which I was in ended up spontaneously swimming in a lake on the side of the road. It started out just testing the water temperature for another day, progressed to the TA daring one of the guys to swim out to the dock, then ended up with the TA and I jumping in before the guys (perhaps to prove a point :P). The water was a little chilly, but it was definitely worth it in the end! We went swimming in the same lake yesterday when it was nice and sunny.
Tuesday involved a hike up a mountain with little gnome homes randomly set along the trail. The view from the top over the Gulf Islands was breath taking, and we walked along several cliff faces before trekking back down the mountain.
I saw the Pacific Swift sail by the house we are staying at, which reminded me again just what an amazing summer is to come. Thursday we went on a field trip to Pacific Rim National Park. Though we were mostly in the rainforest and looking at bogs, we did hike to Long Beach for lunch. I love the sound of the pounding surf on the beach and the weather was perfect. I hadn't been there for a few years so it was nice to once again be able to soak in this part of God's beautiful creation.
The last few nights I have tried slack-lining a few times (which is a very addicting pastime). I think it will take a bit of practice before I can walk all the way across, since this line is about three times as long as the ones I have seen set up at TWU (or perhaps even longer). Now it is Saturday, and I am sitting in a local coffee shop with a multitude of other working on journals and studying. It seems crazy that three weeks have gone by so fast! Monday is midterm day so there is a lot to do before then. Thanks for all the prayers! Hopefully I will be able to get a picture or two up soon.
~ Fair Winds
